There are already many threads here regards home design yet most of them are related on renovation works instead of the design itself. So I would like to share my design knowledge and thoughts with you all here with my casual time.

Let's open discuss on any design solutions or ideas you have with me shall you need some pro advice or seeks second opinions if you have doubts on which design choices are better.

I will try my best to answer your questions if I able to help.( No body is 100% pro ... Cheers) may be other forumers can share his/her knowledge and help to answer any of the design questions post at this thread also. I would love to learn too.

Let's make it clear what to be discussed or not here first :

Not to be discussed:
- not for office, cafe or shop, just for home design
- not for anything technical related to construction works
- not for m&e works
- not for gardening works
- not for renovation quotation and costing
- not for material, products, appliances or brands recommendation
- not for suppliers recommendation and review
- not for design software discussion and suggestions

Can be discussed:
- space planning layout
- design theme
- material selection
- color scheme, mix and match
- lighting scheme but not for lighting product recommendation, more on lighting and ceiling design
- design tricks on hiding awkward structure and corners

The reason I plan not to recommend suppliers or contractor or any product brands is I try to stay neutral to all suppliers as designer.

Different products have their pro and cons and supplier have their own different degree of services. End users also have different expectations and budget.

Most of all, I try not to appear too commercially yet just wish to spend my casual time on and off to help and promote the value of interior design can bring to our beloved home living.


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I will share some examples of my design solutions I did on helping my customers from time to time, so bear with me and keep checking this thread once in a while.

Why not we appreciate some interior design visuals for the starts?



If anyone here got better ideas on what we can chit chat over here, do make suggestions to me.

So welcoming any home design questions you need to ask me here, I am always listening

PS: Please don't private message me and ask for help, I will only made design suggestions for who willing to share Q&A openly on this treads only, don't feel bad as I will ignore all pm message ask for free consultation, cheers!!

This post has been edited by ehwee: May 27 2022, 05:53 PM

We are glad to share some design and decor tips that we encourage home owners to try and learn for better home living environment.

Here are a curated list of the write ups we did, hopefully it brings some inspirations for your home design journeys.

Here is the link:

Home Interior Design Tips and Ideas List

We will updating this List from time to time, so do check back regularly. Enjoy it Everybody !!

This post has been edited by ehwee: Aug 26 2020, 12:05 PM

There is one KEY area that house owners always ignorde while getting their renovation works done, then felt much regret after living in the new home.

This KEY design element is Interior Space Planning and Storage Cabinet Layout Arrangement. Without thoughtful layout plan being created prior to renovation works, we will find lots of things are missing and uneasy when carry out many of our daily household activities

Check out some of our blog articles on space planning tips:

How to Effectively Space Planning An Opened Concept Home Living Interior

Space planning How-tos for having desirable Guest and Family Living Room

GetIDonline Kitchen Layout Space Planning Guideline

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Feel free to ask me any questions regards space planning, as always we can explore many furniture layout options together and learn from each others.

This post has been edited by ehwee: Sep 14 2023, 02:00 PM

There are many things we need to figure out for kitchen cabinet layout, most important we need to ensure our kitchen has the types of different storage compartments we need and secondly the arrangement of these cabinet positions won't conflict with the working flows in the kitchen.

Cabinet layout needs to suit our daily cooking routines, as nobody has the same cooking ways.

Ultimately " Functional " should be the first priority on a good kitchen design!!

This post has been edited by ehwee: May 22 2020, 03:16 PM

True on what you have shared, you have the said on where you prefer to put the sink as you are the person who know what is the best position to place basin, cooking hob and fridge ( which are the 3 important elements in everybody kitchen ), and their positions will make you feel comfortable during your cooking session.

So basin at window is not necessary a compulsory thing. It depend on your existing kitchen layout, shape, size and the window position!!

Most people prefer basin in front of window as it is where the brighter area with natural light shinning through. You won't put cooking hob at window side in modern living for sure, yet if you prefer to have a brighter food preparation area, it is ok the put basin on other place to reserve the window area for preparation activities.

So you have the said!

This is not design related issue, yet since you voice out I just sharing my 2 opinion.

Yes, for long terms wise it is good to have a roof above if your kitchen ceiling is just a bare concrete flat roof.

Yet it still depend on your budget and the workmanship of the contractor. If you opt for torch on Bituminous Waterproofing Membrane instead of usual painted waterproofing layer, it will last long also.

This is also non design related topic, so I think can't provide you an answer, you can Google around the free app on the web and try them, should give you some clues, cheers.

I assume you are having expose slab, if there are no additional plaster ceiling light trough.

It's seems doesn't enough especially on living 1, may be you can opt for ceiling fan that c/w light also, it might help.

How does your supplier thoughts on that since they sell them.....

This post has been edited by ehwee: May 22 2020, 06:11 PM

I will suggest you opt for loose or ready made cabinet instead of build in

No need to go for plaster ceiling, opt for tracking lighting can save you a lot of cost.

Since you are having both down lights and light trough, it is definitely enough yet may be bit bright for someone else, so depend on your preference.

It also depend on the wall painting color, ceiling height and color and wattage of these downlights.

If your wall has middle to darker paint tone then the overall lighting brightness will appear darker if compare to having white wall environment.

Can you share with us some photos of your living room and the persian rugs you plan to have, it will help us to really visualize how your living color scheme looks like.

I try to avoid providing you any wrong suggestions as I can't really imagine if they will match without some photos reference 🙂

If the manhole position is not right at your new extension wall line and away from your kitchen cabinet, able to access for maintaining then OK.

Hope this help 👍

Yes LED strips will achieve smoother gradient lighting effect comparably to t5, If you wish to use them for ambient lighting since your downlights are good enough as the main general lighting source.

This post has been edited by ehwee: May 23 2020, 02:07 PM

This is a 700sqft soho unit, the owner wished to divided out a single bedroom.

The cost seems high, yet if you analyze what have been done then it will be another story.

As It was not just for standard renovation work like glass wall sliding partition, timber flooring, plaster ceiling, plywood base build in cabinets, m&e, painting works, air con, lighting fixtures, etc. Yet also include all the loose furniture, curtains, dining set, sofa set, bed set and some appliances you can see over the images.

This post has been edited by ehwee: May 24 2020, 10:34 AM

It sounds interesting on what you are thinking to do.

May be you can share some photos on the ceiling beam structures of back room and the living & kitchen areas, so we can visualize the existing conditions and make possible suggestions for you.

If the walls are not load bearing, they can be broken down. Yet you will need to build new structure supports shall you need to remove or relocate structure beams and columns. This is to transfer the structure load from the removed beams to the new structures beam or column.

It's adviced you appoint a structure engineer to survey the existing structure and make necessary loading calculation for any structure alterations.

This post has been edited by ehwee: May 25 2020, 11:05 AM

I will suggest a coverage ratio of 80/20 where 80 is off white 20 is either silver mist or grey cloth. Either color is alright as it is personal preference. Same as matt or mid sheen coating, is personal preferences. If modern living can go for matt.

Lighting wise, I will suggest instead of have all downlights, can opt for mixture of downlights, wall flooding ceiling spotlight, some wall or floor lamps.

This will create a more interesting lighting effects and ambience for the interior compare to just merely downlights all over the spaces.

I would say drawers are convenient for small utensils like forks, spun, cups, cooking pans, etc.

Yet for plate and bowls still better go for door compartments with pull out shelves or baskets.

Or you are buy some transparent containers to store and categorized different items or seasoning sauce if using normal doors compartment with adjustable shelves.

Yes partition definitely cheaper. Yet there are a few disadvantages compare to brick wall, partitions are not strong and can easily be accidently broken holes after heavy knocking.

Also for home stay purpose I advice you to have sound insulation in the partition to keep out of noice.with thrinsulation cost add up, then the overall cost is comparable with brick wall.

So unless you just plan to temporary partition it for short period or would like to keep out of messy construction if you are currently staying in the house already, I think for home stay purpose brick wall still better.

This post has been edited by ehwee: May 28 2020, 04:15 PM

May be you pre select a few favorite colour, the upload your house photos with the colour chart, then me and forumers can make suggestion for you.

Then do consider the sound insulation I mentioned, since you will wish to have a quieter working office next to son room